


Mass Effect: Phoenix Protocol

by K_Huntington



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 05:48:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5731696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_Huntington/pseuds/K_Huntington
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The galaxy is finally at peace as reconstruction begins. Three years after the Reaper wars, Vanessa Rosabeth Shepard awakes to find a world she thought she'd never see. As peace continues throughout the galaxy, the embers of the previous war still refuse to go out. Again, Shepard's resolve will be tested to destroy the dark legacy of the Reapers once and for all while she contends with the demons within.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mass Effect: Phoenix Protocol

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: 
> 
> Hello all. I’ll try to keep this nice and short. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my first ever fan fiction. I myself have never tried writing anything of great length, so this is quite the journey for me. I’ve tried to keep canon personalities, but I have taken liberties with character personalities. I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t do them justice. 
> 
> Without further ado, onto the story. I hope you enjoy your stay, and thank you once again for joining me on this journey.
> 
> Disclaimer:
> 
> The overall plot is original. Bioware and EA own all rights to anything canon from the Mass Effect universe. I have no claim over the Mass Effect franchise (I hope that’s the right way to do a disclaimer).

 

A beep punctuated the darkness. It was familiar yet foreign all at once. There was something else in the near silent darkness. Pain. It was jarring yet repressed, a growing ache before equilibrating. The beep came again, a steady rhythm.

She didn’t know where she was, nor did she really care to know. Vanessa Rosabeth Shepard felt light. If people could float on clouds, this would be exactly how it’d feel. Weightless yet soft all at once. A perpetual embrace. It was all so perfect - save the pain. The pain swelled, then dissipated quickly. Vanessa swore she heard voices; she couldn’t be sure. About to ask whatever being, spirit, or God that may be listening where she was, memories, from what felt like a lifetime ago, trickled back.

She remembered. She was dead.

Recalling the Catalyst’s ultimatum, the gravity and guilt shattered the dark tranquility. Three choices. That’s all she was given. Destruction, control, and synthesis. Lives were lost every second Vanessa took to think. The guilt continued to grow, as if the wall she subconsciously constructed to hold it back crumbled before its insurmountable weight. There was no one to consult. No superior to order her. Feeling her body leave the blissful Nirvana, the voices crescendoed as the alien-like beeping intensified. She had killed them. She had killed them all. The Geth. EDI. The Reapers. Anything remotely synthetic.

Writhing in turmoil, Vanessa screamed. How foolish of her to believe she could finally rest. With all the lives that she took, all the decisions that she made, and all the mistakes befallen due to her, she was the wicked. The wicked had no right to rest.

This was her trial, and its punishment wasn’t execution nor eternal flames. The weight of her actions and those lost because of them were the punishment. Where was the fire? Vanessa craved the eternal immolation instead of the voices. She heard EDI somewhere among the madness. Did the AI hate her? She finally understood what it was to be human. She’d said so. Vanessa took that all away.

_EDI…_

“She’s coding!” The voices hushed as Vanessa searched for the speaker. She couldn’t see them. “Doctor! Her vitals are in the red. We’re going to lose her!”

Somewhere in the darkness, Vanessa felt a sensation graze against her body. Was it time for a break before the next round of agony?

“Another dose of pain killers! We need to move her to the OR right now!” Seconds later, Vanessa felt a cooling chill flood her body. The voices were getting softer by the second. “Lets move people. We need to operate now!”

As the chilling coldness continued to soothe the aches and dull the voices, Vanessa felt herself fade back into the calm. Though she saw nothing, her body grew tired. Embracing sleep readily, she sought refuge in tranquility.

* * *

 

Again she heard it. The beeping. It was clearer this time. Unable to stay within the comfort of the darkness, Vanessa opened her eyes. She growled as she shut them. The light was blinding. Coughing, she opened her eyes slowly this time.

A room. A hospital room. That’s where she was. The walls were a neutral blue while the curtains were drawn across the window. Shifting her head, Vanessa followed the tubes inserted into her arm to the life support machines. Amethyst eyes followed the rise and fall of the green line that represented her heartbeat. The brunette tried to move, but a hand pressed gently against her shoulder. She hissed in pain.

“You’re awake...”

Vanessa knew that voice. She knew it as she knew her own body and thoughts. Shifting her focus to the voice, Vanessa’s chest tightened. Miranda.

It was either the cruelest of illusions or the best of dreams. Her tongue betrayed her as Vanessa looked away. This was far too cruel.

“…Not … real.”

“Like hell I’m not!” It was rare to hear Miranda’s voice quiver. “I’m real, you’re real. Come back to me, Nessa…!”

“Died … Citadel … remember,” Vanessa said. Swallowing in hopes of holding back the tears forming at the corner of her eyes, she wanted the illusion to vanish. “Destruction … Fire … explosions … dead …”

The life support machines went berserk. Medical personnel burst through her doors as they did their thing. Vanessa looked down at her body. Her eyes widened. Her body was mummified in medical bandages. Does the afterlife care for such details? She looked back at Miranda as her one bright star in the universe ordered the doctor’s about. Vanessa couldn’t hear anymore. The pain was far too much. The quick descent back into darkness was a welcomed respite.

* * *

 

Vanessa blinked the sleep away. Again, she found herself in the hospital room she saw earlier. Unlike before, the pain had subsided tremendously. Trying to sit up, her body fought her every inch of the way, but she managed it. Looking about, her eye’s fell on a sleeping figure by her bedside. The beautiful locks of dark brown hair. The beautifully shaped body. Vanessa moved her hand and gently stroked those soft, brown locks. It was softer than those silly plush dolls she relished back on Earth when she was a kid. She never owned one. They were stolen. She loved it nevertheless.

Retracting her hand too slow, Shepard hissed in pain as Miranda sat straighter than a Marine under internal affairs scrutiny. Seeing what she’d done, Miranda took Vanessa’s hand and gently caressed it in her own. “Nessa…”

Vanessa chuckled as she looked at her body. “They’re gone. The bandages.”

“You sound better already. Do you still think—”

“That you’re not real? I say a lot of stupid things, Miri,” Vanessa said. She pointed at the window. “Can we get some sunlight in here?”

“It’s evening, Ness.”

“Oh." Vanessa looked around the room. “Feeling a bit of deja vu here. Can you guess why?”

Miranda’s lips tugged up. “Lazarus. Frankly, I’m surprised you were able to walk. Let alone hold your own against those security mechs. Not in your state. The amount of work that went into you this time outdoes Lazarus. It was touch and go.” The smile fading away, Miranda stared at Vanessa. She knew that look. “You promised you’d find me.”

Fighting to recall the promise, Vanessa finally remembered their last communication before the operation. Hammer. So many had died. She nearly did too. While they were banking on heavy resistance, Harbinger coming down sent the whole plan into the deep end. As far as Vanessa was concerned, Hammer was wiped out. The bulk of it anyway. The order for a full retreat was inevitable, she knew that. There was no one to blame either. London held impossible odds of success. The Reapers … the Reapers!

“Miri.” Vanessa clenched Miranda’s hand. “Are they gone? What happened? Did we survive?”

Miranda shushed Vanessa as she patted her hand. “They’re gone. You’ve been asleep for three years.”

Vanessa blinked. “Three years?”

“You woke up a year ago. That’s when you … had your little malfunction. The doctors said something about psychological trauma. I kindly told them to piss off,” Miranda said. “It’s taken up to now to have you eighty percent recovered. Give or take. You’ve been spoiled while you were asleep. The nurses gave you full body massages to prevent muscle degradation. I’ve since taken over. I’m a fast learner. The doctors have been doing a decent enough job. I’ve had to intervene here and there. Between you and I, there are some that should be sacked. Qualified doctors?” Miranda snorted. “I shudder to think what medical school they popped out from. I might be a touch too hard on them. Many of the _qualified_ doctors died during the war. If that isn’t a good enough reason, then I don’t know what is.

“I expect you want to know about the galaxy as a whole. Plainly put, everyone’s rebuilding. Pockets of survivors have been found on other planets. Intergalactic travel has slowed though. The quarians and salarians are leading the mass relay repairs. Good progress but slow. If the Geth were here.” Thinking about her words, Miranda lowered her head slightly. “Touchy subject sorry. They disappeared when you did your thing. There are certainly rumors, but you don’t need to say a word till you’re good and ready. You hear me?”

Vanessa nodded. “So every thing’s okay?”

Miranda shrugged. “Relatively speaking. I’ll spare you the less … cultured details.”

“I need to hear it all.”

“You will. Just not now,” Miranda said as she leaned in and kissed Vanessa’s forehead. “You rest. I’ll keep all the bad guys away while you get well.”

Feeling a warm blush no doubt spreading over her sun-kissed, light tan skin, Vanessa smiled. “Whatever happened to the ice queen thing you perfected?”

Raising an eyebrow, the woman feigned anger and frowned. “I’m hurt,” she said. “I thought you liked the bossy, sassy woman.”

Vanessa winked even though it hurt to. “Icy exterior, soft gooey interior.”

Miranda smiled and gave Vanessa’s hand yet another squeeze. “Our little secret,” she said. “Don’t go spreading it around. I’d lose face with my colleagues. And the rest of the populace.”

“So you’ve stopped running then.”

Pursing her lips, a brief silence lingered before Miranda spoke again, “you said we didn’t have to run anymore. I’m tired of hiding, Nessa. Life on the run isn’t as glamorous as the novels make it out to be. Missing showers, making phony accounts? Just a whole lot of busy work,” Miranda said gesturing with her hands for emphasis. “Believe it or not, I accepted a position within the Alliance. Civilian job. Research and development mostly. Human augmentation and genetics specifically. My typical comfort topics. It’s ironic isn’t it? From Cerberus to Alliance. I still get dirty looks here and there. Still getting used to military regulation. My god. So much fuss.”

Looking pointedly at her, Vanessa rose her hand and wagged a finger. She chewed down the pain. “Ex-Cerberus,” she said. “I can live with that though. Am I saluting you or …?”

The woman laughed as she shook her head. “First Lieutenant though my case is a bit … unique,” she said. “Even if I did outrank you, I’d still salute you, Nessa. From hero to legend. That’s what you are now. A legend not only humanity but to the whole damn galaxy.”

The soldier shrugged off the comment. The last thing Vanessa wanted was to be a legend. In her eyes, she was a soldier. Just plain old Commander Shepard. As with all Marines, she preformed her duty and nothing else. While her situation and feats could’ve been misconstrued into miracles, it was sheer determination that got her through. There were so many times when she wanted to drop her rifle and just quit. The Council’s repeated hindrance. Cerberus’s atrocities revving the gag reflex. The Reapers destroying hundreds with a single attack. There were so many reasons for her to quit. But she didn’t. She didn’t deserve to be a legend. She was just a soldier with an attitude problem. With some stubbornness sprinkled in.

 _Nuts. Plain simple nuts._ Vanessa laughed. She knew Miranda was looking at her oddly, but she didn’t care. “Nuts.”

Miranda arched an eyebrow. “Nuts? Context, if you’d please.”

“Something my old man used to say. We didn’t get along, but that’s something I stole from the old bastard.” A thought came to mind as she turned to Miranda. “What happened to the others? Did they survive?”

Dark brown eyebrows arched up. “Garrus is living the high life on Palaven. Joker’s still hounding about the Normandy. He … hasn’t been the same after EDI’s death. Lets not get into that,” Miranda quickly said when she saw Vanessa’s expression, “Tali’s back on the Flotilla. Javik is here actually. Said something about congratulating the Reaper slayer. He should be visiting. My exposition may’ve been added in. Just a little. The others are fine. Lots didn’t make it though. Lots.”

Sighing, Vanessa was saved from the solemn silence when the door opened. Two doctors entered as they nodded to the room’s occupants. “Commander Shepard. Lieutenant Lawson. I’m Dr. Andrews. Just doing my routine check-in. Might I say, you’ve got a loyal friend. The lieutenant’s been here almost every single day. Evening specifically.”

Vanessa nodded to Miranda. “She’s my partner. Um, battle … partner.”

Dr. Abrams blinked then nodded. “The lieutenant may have already told you, but you’ve been out for three years, two months, fourteen days. We’ve managed to keep muscle degradation down considerably due to massaging and other treatments,” he said. “Believe it or not, you didn’t look like this when we found you. If I had to make a comparison, an overcooked, charred steak would be closest. Chances of resurrection were slim. Luckily, you had cybernetics, and for whatever reason, you weren’t affected like the other synthetics. We simply added onto that and used the lieutenant’s Lazarus process and went to town. Obviously, this is all classified. Only a handful know about it. Level Black clearance. Doesn’t get any higher than that.

“There’s a whole host of biological, cognitive, and neural tests we have to undergo. That can be spread out. Don’t want to overwhelm you on your first official cognitive day,” he said. He gestured to the female doctor. “Your turn, Dr. Samuels.”

“First off, it’s an honor, Commander,” said the blonde. “Dr. Andrews oversaw your general recovery. Physical therapy - PT - is all me. Three years of inactivity does a lot to the body, so we’re going to be taking things nice and slow. This’ll probably be a six month to a year process. Depends on how quickly you get back into the groove. Once you’re able to walk and do all the basics, it’ll be your show. Lieutenant Lawson’s as well I’d imagine. Now,” Dr. Samuels clapped her hands together, “we start now.”

A grin spread across Vanessa’s face as she forced her body up. Slowly she moved her feet off the bed until she was sitting on the edge. “Six months to a year’s too long,” she said. Fighting the nausea, Shepard got to her feet though she leaned against the bed for support. Miranda was already by her side supporting her. Vanessa grimaced. “Small steps though.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Idiot.”

Dr. Andrews excused himself while Dr. Samuels stayed behind. She nodded. “Well, you’re already doing better than I thought.”

“Glad to exceed your expectations,” Vanessa said.

Dr. Samuels laughed. “Commander? I’m pretty sure you exceeded the galaxy’s expectations three years ago. You find someone who can exceed yours, you let me know,” the doctor said. “I’d love to meet that unlucky soul.”


End file.
